Self-Control and Spirituality
Self- control seems to be a theme that's coming up for me lately. I've
been listening to some great parenting tapes and they emphasize how a
child's ability to focus, concentrate, and persevere through tasks, etc
really comes from self-control. I know I skipped class on some of the self-control lessons.
Does a diet come because of lack self-restraint? We give in to the desire of the flesh, right?
I was listening to Marty Copeland on Life Today talking
about her spiritual approach to weight loss and health. She really
spoke, what I thought, were profound thoughts on the subjects. She
says that a diet can get you where you want to be, help teach
boundaries, but it is not the same as the fruit of the spirit of
self-control operating on our lives. In other words, it's not a
permanent fix. Hmm.
She shared her own story about using food for comfort as a child
when she was unequipped to handle things at the time. She says the
food became a stronghold. She quoted a scripture ( I need to find
this!) that when we sow in the flesh we reap corruption, or in other
words, a worsened state. Well yuck! That doesn't sound good. She
goes on to quote Paul and the scripture where he was in bondage in the
verse that says "That thing I want to do...I don't."
I want Jenny Craig to take me to the freedom. But, am I making the
inward change in my heart and thinking? When do I move using the diet
as a tool to a supernatural change in my thinking? Peace comes when I
have not overeaten, not when I do. Contentment comes when I can move
my body without pain from extra weight, not when I've eaten so much I
go to bed with a tummy ache. Yes, that thing I don't want to do
(overeat) I sometimes do.
I pray for self-control, because it really is the path to freedom. I
want to sow to the Spirit. Marty said she would leave food on her
plate and say, "God, I sow this to you as self-control, faithfulness,
and endurance."
Wow.